The present invention relates to absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants, adult incontinence articles, bed mats, and the like. In particular, the present invention relates to those absorbent articles which store urine by means of either capillary or osmotic pressure.
Absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants, adult incontinence articles, bed mats, and the like are well known in the art and are frequently used for example for babies, toddlers, incontinent persons, and bed-ridden persons.
It has been recognized in the prior art that storage of acquired urine close to the respective body exit may bear inherent disadvantages. The human urethra is located almost in between the legs of the human being. Hence, storage in particular of larger amounts of urine close to the urethra would lead to increased bulk in between the legs of the wearer. Increased bulk, of course, limits the mobility of the wearer and thus is uncomfortable. It is therefore desirable to store the acquired urine away from the point of acquisition.
Liquid distribution away from the point of acquisition also has further advantages. Since a larger area may be used for storage of the acquired urine away from the point of acquisition, the caliper of the storage area as a whole may be reduced. Hence, the article for handling body urine which comprises the storage member appears less bulky.
PCT patent publication WO 98/22067 (Matthews et al.) provides a personal care product in which the ratio of the amount of liquid stored in the center region to the amount of liquid storage in at least one of the end regions 30 minutes after an insult is less than 5:1. This prior art, however, fails to provide an absorbent article which transports a larger amount of urine away from the acquisition region. In addition, it fails to provide a sufficiently rapid liquid transportation away from the acquisition region.
PCT patent application WO 98/43578 (LaVon et al.) provides an absorbent article comprising absorbent core with a crotch region and at least one waist region whereby said crotch region has a lower ultimate liquid storage capability than the waist region. The article further has an improved liquid handling performance such as an acquisition rate of at least 0.6 milliliters per second in the fourth gush.
Hence, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the problems of the prior art absorbent articles.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article which transports urine away from the acquisition region immediately after acquisition of the urine.
Is a further object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article which stores a substantial amount of urine outside the acquisition region.
The present invention further provides an absorbent article comprising an acquisition region, a waist region separate from said acquisition region. The absorbent article is characterized in that the article has a fill pattern difference of less than 30% according to the Instantaneous Storage Pattern test method defined herein.
The present invention further provides a process for handling urine in an absorbent article, the article comprising an acquisition region and at least one waist region being separate from said acquisition region. The process for handling urine comprising the steps of:
acquiring liquid into said article at said acquisition region, the amount of said liquid being a fraction A of the total design capacity of the article;
transporting a fraction B of said acquired liquid to at least one of said waist regions, said fraction B being at least 20%.
The process of the present invention is characterized in that for any value of said fraction A between 20% and 100% said fraction B differs by less than 30% from the value of fraction B for a fraction A of 20%.